Thanks for your opinions about the header!  I just got on the computer and was shocked to see so many comments…very helpful indeed.

About the picture…yes, it’s of Grace.  The two of us walked down to the stream the other day to check on a moth cocoon that we are waiting to see hatch.  Grace, in her bare feet, was going all over the place, not caring if she got wet.  She started going off in one direction and sunk clear up to her knees in black mud.  The noises she made and her cautions, “Don’t come over here, Mom!  I DON’T recommend coming THIS way.” made me laugh and laugh.  (And take a picture).

I thought I would share a recipe today.  I made it last week and Rich said it was his new favorite dessert.

I found this in the book linked to this post.  It’s probably just a basic recipe you could find in any ol’ cookbook, but here you go:

Blackberry Cobbler

Biscuit Topping:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream

Blackberry Filling:

4 cups berries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 T all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. allspice

Preheat oven 375.

Make the biscuit topping.  In a large bowl, toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add the cream to the crumbs, tossing with a fork until a soft batter forms.  Set the topping aside.

Make the blackberry filling.  In a large bowl, toss together the blackberries, sugar, flour, and allspice.  Spoon the filling into an ungreased 13 by 9 inch baking pan.  Using a large spoon, drop mounds of the biscuit topping on the blackberry filling.  (The batter will spread as it cooks).

Bake the cobbler for 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.  Let the cobbler cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Serves SIX

My own personal tweaks to the recipe:

used regular butter instead of unsalted
used 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup
used half and half instead of heavy cream

used 5 cups of mixed berries instead of 4 cups of blackberries
used cinnamon instead of all spice
(also, next time I make it, I will try adding honey to the filling instead of sugar)

I know I could make my life a whole lot easier if I skimped on homemade things like desserts, breads, and nice dinners.  However, I really really enjoy baking and cooking, even though it can be hard to make *for example* homemade dinner rolls (like I did yesterday evening) when it’s “that” time of the day (everyone is getting tired and grouchy, and mom can’t wait for dad to come home!).  But, I’ll tell ya, Rich was one happy man when he was eating those warm from the oven rolls last night…the children were happy, too….the noises of delight, “hmmm! hmmmm!” made me smile.  It’s totally worth the trouble!  And Rich gave me a nice kiss right at the table, he was so pleased.  Food isn’t the only way to a man’s heart () but yes, for most men, it is a big step toward those lovin’ feelings when his stomach is satisfied after a long day of working away from home.

I don’t like cleaning the kitchen after dinner but the children are old enough to do it now.  What a blessing!

Speaking of food.  I made an odd lunch for the children yesterday but they loved it.  It was a pound of hamburger fried up in a pan, with one big can of baked beans mixed in, and some leftover corn from the fridge.  I didn’t even add anything else…but, like I said, they enjoyed it, and it was healthy so there you go.  Jacob got out rolls and had his mixture on a bun.  They were impressed, and said they would add it to their menu.  (They say they will own their own restaurant someday which is a favorite ongoing topic of discussion).

I’ve been making the children all eat breakfast and lunch together around the table again.  We were starting to “just make yourself something to eat when you’re ready” but then I realized I did not know what they were eating and I didn’t think it was healthy enough.  I think it’s better and easier for us all to eat together, it makes for some fun family times and the work of the meals is all at once, instead of scattered over an hour or more.  The children start off on the strangest topics and we all get to laughing.  Although, I must admit, there are times when I put a ban on talking.  Sometimes I really need the quiet. 

It’s been rainy here the last few days.  Yesterday I was so drowsy that we watched a movie after lunch.  The children had listened to Hans Brinker on my IPOD (*Unabridged version*. I’ve been buying books for my ipod lately and they love to listen…Bambi, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Redwall) and then I had ordered the movie off of Netflix.  It is an old Disney movie and it was good!  Everyone liked it except Caleb (it was a little over his head).  They all wanted to go ice skating afterwards, but they satisfied their urges by “skating” with socks on the bare floors instead.

My little lamby just woke up (baaaaa-ing like a lamb to call me) and he’s soaked so off I go.

Have a good day!

Love, Shanda

quiet house

clean kitchen

sunshine

golden orange sweet potatoes

creamy butter

sweet honey

wholesome whole wheat

cobalt fiesta

happy makin’ bread

beauty in a kitchen towel

beauty in an apron

beauty in a sister’s love (she painted my toes bubble gum pink)

sitting in a sunbeam

the feel of soft dough

dry flour

 rings are getting dirty

marigold fiesta

rising dough in a warm spot

glistening with oil on top

anticipation

sage green lace

time to wait

twin loaves

another wait, as they rise

the washer and dryer humming in the background

lunch with Grace

golden brown bread

the smell. . . . .mmmmmmm. . . . .

steamy hot

basting with melted sweet butter

watching it soak into the crusty tops

bending over to enjoy another smell

(to enjoy:  the theme, the desire of this post)

a small fiesta bowl filled with soft cream cheese spread

licking my fingers

finally, the finished product

the hours flew by, and yet they linger here in the photos

vintage rose fiesta

time to take a bite,

and share a piece with my husband

Sweet Potato Yeast Bread

2 packages active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (without added milk or butter)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, honey, egg, salt and whole wheat flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 – 8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.  Shape into loaves.  Place in two greased loaf pans.  Cover; let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.  Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown (cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly).  Remove from pans to wire racks.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter; brush over warm bread.  Cool.

Cream Cheese Nut Spread

1 cup butter, softened
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

In a small mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Stir in walnuts.  Serve with bread. 

Yield:  2 loaves

Enjoy what you do today, even if it’s something as simple as baking in the kitchen.  The time and effort of bringing beauty and pleasure into your everyday life is good for the soul.

Ethan ended up not able to play in his recital.  He only “got sick one time” however, his teacher thanked me from the bottom of his heart last night at music lessons, for not taking a chance and bringing him….and exposing innocent people to the stomach bug.  We made the right decision in having him stay home and rest on the couch.  Thankfully he was all better by Sunday morning, just in time to play in the snow that fell in the night.

I was so happy on Saturday to finally find the perfect Nativity set for my family.  It is made by Playmobil, and it’s basically a set of toys, but perfect for us because it really means a lot to me to be able to allow the children to freely touch and play with it. 

My daughter Grace loves to stand here, and get warm……

Also, I tried to capture the wild side of our family…..David and Caleb were dancing around the living room Saturday night.

I thought this page from one of the Little Golden Books that I’ve been reading to the children was so cute. 

Mrs. Claus baked some gingerbread boys, and I baked up some boys and one girl:

We also baked these:

I wonder if anyone else has made these?  For some reason they have become a favorite cookie of mine, for Christmas.  I found the recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook the first year I was married and have been making them ever since…but only at Christmas.  They are pink, but who cares?  They look great on the tray…..

C o l o r f u l   C o o k i e s

1 package (3-oz) fruit flavored jello (we used strawberry)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Colorful Glaze

For cookies:  Heat over to 350.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the dry jello for the glaze.  Mix remaining jello, sugar, and butter.  Stir in flour and salt.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake until set, but not brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

For glaze:  Mix reserved 1 tablespoon jello and 3 tablespoons hot water.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth.  Dip tops of cookies into glaze.  Decorate with coconut, nuts, cherries, colored sugar, or small candies.  Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

I caught Caleb eating about six of them yesterday.  We had to put them up high. 

Yesterday I had my friend Karen over and we made fabric yo-yo’s together.  I plan on making enough to space apart on a ribbon for a garland.  I got the idea from my friend Dawn, who also suggested sewing buttons in the middle.  Karen and I made a bunch and the first thing I did this morning (after eating breakfast) was cut and sew some more.  Dawn is right, it is relaxing and addicting, especially when one is with a friend, or still in her pj’s sitting in a comfy recliner by the fire.

Last but not least, one of my Christmas boys.  I think I’ll just sit and stare awhile….at this yummy little love.

Ethan ended up not able to play in his recital.  He only “got sick one time” however, his teacher thanked me from the bottom of his heart last night at music lessons, for not taking a chance and bringing him….and exposing innocent people to the stomach bug.  We made the right decision in having him stay home and rest on the couch.  Thankfully he was all better by Sunday morning, just in time to play in the snow that fell in the night.

I was so happy on Saturday to finally find the perfect Nativity set for my family.  It is made by Playmobil, and it’s basically a set of toys, but perfect for us because it really means a lot to me to be able to allow the children to freely touch and play with it. 

My daughter Grace loves to stand here, and get warm……

Also, I tried to capture the wild side of our family…..David and Caleb were dancing around the living room Saturday night.

I thought this page from one of the Little Golden Books that I’ve been reading to the children was so cute. 

Mrs. Claus baked some gingerbread boys, and I baked up some boys and one girl:

We also baked these:

I wonder if anyone else has made these?  For some reason they have become a favorite cookie of mine, for Christmas.  I found the recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook the first year I was married and have been making them ever since…but only at Christmas.  They are pink, but who cares?  They look great on the tray…..

C o l o r f u l   C o o k i e s

1 package (3-oz) fruit flavored jello (we used strawberry)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Colorful Glaze

For cookies:  Heat over to 350.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the dry jello for the glaze.  Mix remaining jello, sugar, and butter.  Stir in flour and salt.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake until set, but not brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

For glaze:  Mix reserved 1 tablespoon jello and 3 tablespoons hot water.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth.  Dip tops of cookies into glaze.  Decorate with coconut, nuts, cherries, colored sugar, or small candies.  Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

I caught Caleb eating about six of them yesterday.  We had to put them up high. 

Yesterday I had my friend Karen over and we made fabric yo-yo’s together.  I plan on making enough to space apart on a ribbon for a garland.  I got the idea from my friend Dawn, who also suggested sewing buttons in the middle.  Karen and I made a bunch and the first thing I did this morning (after eating breakfast) was cut and sew some more.  Dawn is right, it is relaxing and addicting, especially when one is with a friend, or still in her pj’s sitting in a comfy recliner by the fire.

Last but not least, one of my Christmas boys.  I think I’ll just sit and stare awhile….at this yummy little love.

I went to Target this morning.  It felt so good to get out of the house.  I had to get some laundry detergent and some other things, and I also took the opportunity to do more Christmas shopping.  For those of you who are impressed, don’t be, because I will still be wrapping gifts at the last minute  (Christmas Eve)….I do plan on putting as many things in giftbags as possible this year, though.  I think I can buy them in bulk at Costco.  David was in school while we were out, so I just had Jake, E, Grace, and Caleb with me.  My favorite purchases were the adorable Nick and Nora PJ’s for the older kids (not for Christmas).

Grace’s are silky pink with retro kitty cats.  I found hers on the clearance rack.

Jacob’s are thick soft army-man pants with a soft long sleeved t-shirt.  I couldn’t find a picture of Ethan’s but his are the same as Jake’s only they are a retro cowboy theme ** very very cute **

Also, I bought storage containers for the boy’s room.  I’ve been wondering what to do about the Lego problem.  Every time they build with their legos (which is during their every spare moment) they get spread all around the room.  They like to build while sitting down on their carpet and they like to dump them all out so they can see what they have.  Sooooo, my solution was to buy two of those long flat storage containers.   They hold 40-ish quarts and because I bought two of them there is plenty of room for the legos to stay IN the container, with the boys still able to paw around looking for certain pieces.  The new rule is NO MORE STRAY LEGOS ON THE FLOOR.  Also, they can push the containers right under their beds when they are done playing.

After we were done shopping we ate bagels together at Panera Bread.  I sat on one side of a booth next to Ethan and Jacob, across from Caleb and Grace.  It was nice, I do love having my little buddies with me.  I thanked them for eating bagels with me as we skipped and stepped our way back to the van.    We were done and home by 11:15, just in time to get settled and then greet Davy as he got off the bus.

Okay.  Time for Grace’s birthday cake recipe.

Here’s a picture of what my cake ended up looking like.  The recipe makes a three layer cake.  I put together a 2 layer for our official family cake, and we ate the extra layer with our friends during the day.

The cake stand belonged to Rich’s Grandma, by the way.

Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
10 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter three 8-inch round cake pans.
In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa and boiling water together, making a smooth paste.  Set aside to cool.  Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda together onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Put the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Cream on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Decrease the speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.  Mix in the vanilla and the cocoa paste.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.  Bake the layers for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean.  Transfer the cakes to wire racks and let cool completely.  Unmold them by running a knife along the inside edge of each pan and inverting them.

Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt  (when I read this, I was frightened that I left out the salt in the cake, but the recipe does NOT call for salt!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter together.  Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Sift the confectioners’ sugar and salt together into a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the vanilla and the milk.  Whisk the milk mixture into the confectioners’ sugar.  Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.  Fill and frost cake with the frosting.

Serves 10 to 12

(I got the recipe from the cookbook which is linked at the end of this post)

Rich said it was the best chocolate cake he ever had.  When I served the single layer it to our friends, we ate every piece (in record time) and then David scraped the leftover crumbs off the cake platter and ate those, too.  It was a big hit.

Well, I best get on with my day.  Among other things, there is laundry to fold, school to teach, and dinner to make later on (chicken and dumplings).  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love, Shanda

I went to Target this morning.  It felt so good to get out of the house.  I had to get some laundry detergent and some other things, and I also took the opportunity to do more Christmas shopping.  For those of you who are impressed, don’t be, because I will still be wrapping gifts at the last minute  (Christmas Eve)….I do plan on putting as many things in giftbags as possible this year, though.  I think I can buy them in bulk at Costco.  David was in school while we were out, so I just had Jake, E, Grace, and Caleb with me.  My favorite purchases were the adorable Nick and Nora PJ’s for the older kids (not for Christmas).

Grace’s are silky pink with retro kitty cats.  I found hers on the clearance rack.

Jacob’s are thick soft army-man pants with a soft long sleeved t-shirt.  I couldn’t find a picture of Ethan’s but his are the same as Jake’s only they are a retro cowboy theme ** very very cute **

Also, I bought storage containers for the boy’s room.  I’ve been wondering what to do about the Lego problem.  Every time they build with their legos (which is during their every spare moment) they get spread all around the room.  They like to build while sitting down on their carpet and they like to dump them all out so they can see what they have.  Sooooo, my solution was to buy two of those long flat storage containers.   They hold 40-ish quarts and because I bought two of them there is plenty of room for the legos to stay IN the container, with the boys still able to paw around looking for certain pieces.  The new rule is NO MORE STRAY LEGOS ON THE FLOOR.  Also, they can push the containers right under their beds when they are done playing.

After we were done shopping we ate bagels together at Panera Bread.  I sat on one side of a booth next to Ethan and Jacob, across from Caleb and Grace.  It was nice, I do love having my little buddies with me.  I thanked them for eating bagels with me as we skipped and stepped our way back to the van.    We were done and home by 11:15, just in time to get settled and then greet Davy as he got off the bus.

Okay.  Time for Grace’s birthday cake recipe.

Here’s a picture of what my cake ended up looking like.  The recipe makes a three layer cake.  I put together a 2 layer for our official family cake, and we ate the extra layer with our friends during the day.

The cake stand belonged to Rich’s Grandma, by the way.

Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
10 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter three 8-inch round cake pans.
In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa and boiling water together, making a smooth paste.  Set aside to cool.  Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda together onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Put the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Cream on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Decrease the speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.  Mix in the vanilla and the cocoa paste.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.  Bake the layers for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean.  Transfer the cakes to wire racks and let cool completely.  Unmold them by running a knife along the inside edge of each pan and inverting them.

Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt  (when I read this, I was frightened that I left out the salt in the cake, but the recipe does NOT call for salt!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter together.  Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Sift the confectioners’ sugar and salt together into a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the vanilla and the milk.  Whisk the milk mixture into the confectioners’ sugar.  Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.  Fill and frost cake with the frosting.

Serves 10 to 12

(I got the recipe from the cookbook which is linked at the end of this post)

Rich said it was the best chocolate cake he ever had.  When I served the single layer it to our friends, we ate every piece (in record time) and then David scraped the leftover crumbs off the cake platter and ate those, too.  It was a big hit.

Well, I best get on with my day.  Among other things, there is laundry to fold, school to teach, and dinner to make later on (chicken and dumplings).  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love, Shanda

Not long ago, one of my friends asked me for this recipe.  I thought I would post it here, in case anyone else would like to try it.  When I make it for people, I always get asked for the recipe, which I clipped from a Taste of Home magazine years ago.  (1999!!)

3 pounds ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2/3 cup boiling water
2 cans (28 oz each) baked beans with molasses
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup prepared mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef, onions and celery until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain.  Dissolve bouillon in water; stir into beef mixture.  Add the beans, ketchup, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper; mix well.  Cover and bake at 375 for 60-70 minutes or until bubbly; stir.  Top with bacon. 

Yield:  12 servings

Like everything else, this will taste MUCH better, if served from a beautiful fiesta bowl. 

Not long ago, one of my friends asked me for this recipe.  I thought I would post it here, in case anyone else would like to try it.  When I make it for people, I always get asked for the recipe, which I clipped from a Taste of Home magazine years ago.  (1999!!)

3 pounds ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2/3 cup boiling water
2 cans (28 oz each) baked beans with molasses
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup prepared mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef, onions and celery until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain.  Dissolve bouillon in water; stir into beef mixture.  Add the beans, ketchup, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper; mix well.  Cover and bake at 375 for 60-70 minutes or until bubbly; stir.  Top with bacon. 

Yield:  12 servings

Like everything else, this will taste MUCH better, if served from a beautiful fiesta bowl. 

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future.  I live now.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good morning!

Rich just left for work about 10 minutes ago.  I helped him carry his stuff out to the truck and then ran inside to get him a towel because he left his sunroof (is that what you call it?) open and it rained a little this morning.  It’s a good thing he has leather seats in his truck!  He’s working in his new office and he took an enlarged family picture (from the ice cream post) with him today, and he’s so proud of it.  He picked out the frame and put the picture in himself this weekend.  It made me feel good to see that.

We had such a nice weekend!  We went out on Saturday as a family, and to church on Sunday.  A bunch of little, but satisfying things were done around the house (like cleaning up and mowing the yard, and another batch of jam!). . . . .

We had a campfire on Saturday night and then another one last night.  I took some pictures last night of the kids cooking/burning things~they cooked hotdogs, then marshmallows, and then when everything else was gone, they made “twig toast”.  The little boys were so very sticky and dirty afterwards, and I had the pleasure of scrubbing them clean in a big bath when we came back inside **with bubbles**.

Today’s question for you dear ladies is WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BEING A WIFE AND/or MAMA?  WHAT LITTLE THINGS?  WHAT BIG THINGS?

**********************************

The incineration of marshmallows.

Jacob burned one so black that when he ate it, there was nothing inside!

My quiet little lady. . . . .see the pond behind her?  That’s the swimming pond.

It was hard to get Caleb to stand still for this picture.

Ethan took this one;  (for those who haven’t been to our place, see those shrubs behind us?  The second pond is just beyond them, it’s the pond that the children catch things out of, but they never swim in it because of snakes).

My least favorite part of a campfire. . . .when the wind blows my way~

Jacob and Ethan did the running back and forth to the house to get things, how nice to have older children!!  Ethan made the brownies all by himself.  I’ll tell ya, I’m so proud of him.  He was determined to bake something yesterday afternoon and he looked through the cookbooks until he found a recipe.  I doubled it for him and he went to the kitchen and mixed them up.  I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN ANYTHING, I wasn’t even in the kitchen.   The only thing I did was take them out of the oven and they were PERFECT. 

Ethan’s Cocoa Brownies  (from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book)

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350.  Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended.  Blend dry ingredients; mix in.  Spread in a well-greased pan, 9 by 13.  Bake about 30 minutes (we always take them out slightly underdone).  Cool.

“These brownies are dangerous” is what Rich said about them.

 The other thing that I am absolutely thrilled about is MY HOUSE WORK.  I talked to Rich about how discouraged I was about the endless work and he came up with a great solution.  By the way, whenever Rich wants to talk to the kids he has them all stand in a line in front of him at attention.  It’s so so cute.  So, he got the older ones together (J, E, and G) and announced that they were going to start having their own section of the house to keep clean.  He let them choose what they wanted to do.  Ethan wanted to be in charge of the livingroom.  Jacob and Grace wanted to share the kitchen duty~ Jacob does the dishwasher and counters, and Grace does the table and floor.  They will get an allowance for their work and so far, after one day, I already feel a big burden lifted.  We will have a bit of work to do, in forming the habit, but I think they will rise to the occasion, especially if they are rewarded with LOTS of praise and some spending money.

We do have to figure out what David can do (he’s 5) and Caleb is 3 now, but there must be something that little guy can do.  We ALL have to pick up after our own selves and keep our own rooms clean.

I better get on with my morning. . . .a couple of children are awake now. 

Have a wonderful Monday!